Hose turner



July 25, 1950 R. R. HAYS 2,516,383

HOSE TURNER Filed Feb. 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 INVEN TOR,

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y 1950 R. R. HAYS 2,516,383

HOSE TURNER Filed Feb. 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 67 6 Fig4 Z2 INVENTOR,

77 1/6156]! 7)? fiyi Patented July 25, 1950 UNITED STATES OFFICE- HOSE TURNER Russell R. Hays, Lawrence, Kans.

ApplicationFebruary 4, 1946, ScrialNo. 645,313 8 Claims. (01. 255-13) This invention relates to well drilling: apparatus and more particularly to improvements in mechanisms-for extending ahigh pressure. hose transversely from a. vertical well bore in order. that a cutting nozzle. or drill-carriedon. the extending endof the hose may be utilizedfor cut-- ting horizontal drainage channels; being: a con-- tinuation in part, of; co-pending. application Serial No. 604,964 for a Hydraulic Engine; filed Julyv 13, 1945, now. Patent. Number 2,441,881.

Since many oil wells are finished with 4 inch to 4% inchgholes in .the, producing stratum, it, follows that the radius. of the are through which thev hose must be turned through 90- to be: effective in such wells will under optimum conditions bearound. 4' inches. At the same, time, ahose' having. satisfactory rigidity, and fluid carrying. capacity for this work will" rarely have an O. D. of less than inch, which allowingfora 10% expansiorrunder pressure gives a diameter substantially. the radius 1 of curvature. Under normal operating conditions, however, no such. optimum figure exists; This is because the cutting. nozzle or drill must'be horizontally positioned, before beginning the cut. An allowance of 1 inches to 2 inches must .be. made for this horizontal positioning of the drill, with the result that the actual radius of the are. ofcurvature isusually 3 or less timesthediameter of the hose; to be. turned.-

When it is further considered thatto provide. sufiicient clearance. between the. fluid supply hose and the drainage lateral for the exhausted. fluid stream to, effectively flushthe cuttings from the hole, the diameter of the cutting-head should, be at least greater than the hose. by which it isycarried, and thatthis head must: also pass freely through thehose. turning mecha-v nism, the complexity of theproblem presented will be more readily appreciated; Since. fric-. tion arising with turning of. the direction of force acting to extend'the hose from'the. vertical to the; horizontal, centers; in the turning mechanism and as such must-be added to the initially imposed vertical force feeding the hose into the lateral, it will be apparent-that" uni-. form friction components are essental in main-- taining cutting pressures. Reduction of thesefriction. components to a'minimum isalso imperative for successful, operation.

In examining the'mechanism used-for turningv a fluid supply hose in this manner; three dis-. tinct operating conditions are observable:

(1) Getting the nozzle or cutting head; to. feed smoothl through the hosepturner mecharnism presents a. particular; problemtsince. itsresistance to turnin v causes. it to: dig. in. or. nose out-toward theoutside. of. thearc; Because of its larger diameter. and. the. yieldability of the.

hose this diggingiintefiect is so great that. it is.

impossible to force: such. a head. through a smooth curved conduit of; small. dimensions.

(2) When thehose: isbeing fed horizontally away from the main drill hole, any resistance.

it encounters acts atirightangles to. the. vertically: imposed ,feeding; force. with; the. result. thatthe hose'is compressedinand against the back of theturning conduit; When the hose is in contact witha .fixed: surface. at: this time, the

, friction at: this point of contact. becomes so inga. highv pressure hose-through a arc inside a well.bore and horizontally positioning a nozzle or .drillingdevice carried on the extending en'dgof the..hose-for projection against the;

formation to be. cut.

(2) Theprovision of ahose turning mecha-' nism in whichzan-endlessbelt traveling with the hose; and supporting; its outer face: during its passagethrough .the turning mechanism transfers the friction normal .to this turning to rollerscarrying the-belt and lying outside the immediatearcof curvatureiof the hose.

(3) Theprovision of a. hose turning 'm'echa-' IllSm. ll1;WhiCh.a,aS1aCk belt carried on rollers lying outside the turning are limits the bend which can bevimposedupon. the hose by feeding pressures.

(4)., The provision of a hose turningmechanism: in which'iaslack belt carried onirollers lying outside the turning arc'permitstransfer of. normal .turningfriction loads from' a point adjacent the back wall lot; the: turner case to thepivots of the rollers-supporting the beltand lying well inside the turning; mechanism.

(5). i The provision of ahose turning;.1mecha-- nism in which the side walls of: th'eturning mechanismserve asside guides-for a slack'ibelt,

carried. by rollers 2' mounted inside. the turner,

3 to prevent the belt running off these rollers, and also serve to prevent lateral deflection of the hose and its running off the belt while passing through the turner.

(6) The provision of a hose turning mechanism in which a single, flanged roller lyin inside the arc of curvature of the turned hose and wholly within the turning mechanism carries the hose during withdrawal from the well and while it is making a turn of substantially (7) The provision of a hose turning mechanism in which a flanged turning roller lying inside the arc of curvature of the turned hose and wholly within the turning mechanism permits horizontal alignment of a section of 'thehose while inside of the turning mechanism, with lateral drainage channels extending from a main drill hole.

(8) The provision of a hose turning mechanism in which flanged rollers placed on the insideof the arc of curvature of the hose in passing through the turner act to guide and maintain the hose upon an endless belt eifective against the back side of the hose.

(9) The provision of a hose turning mechanism in which a pivoted clamp picks up the end of the hose, or the nozzle carried by it, after entry into the turner and maintains the nozzle in alignment with the centerline of the normal arc of curvature of the hose in the turner while carrying the nozzle through a 90 arc, after which it automatically drops the nozzle, in position for horizontal extension from the turner. .(10) The provision of a carrying device for a drill head mounted on a high pressure hose during passage through a 90 arc in a hose turner in which paired pawls carried on arms pivoted at the center of the circle of which the arc is a part, project through paired slots in the sides of the turner case and into the curved passageway normally occupied by the hose to pick up the drill head carried by the hose and carry. it in alignment withthe center line of this:pas sageway through a 90 arc until oblique faces of the pawls simultaneously contact the lower ends of the slots tospread the pawls and thus release thedrill head for horizontal extension.

(ll) In a drill head carry of the character described, the provision of paired pawlsmain tained in the passageway of a hose turner by spring tension with sufiicient distance between them to permit free passage of the hose yet at the same time to pick up a drill head or nozzle carried by the hose and having a slightly greater diameter than the hose, and the provision of suitable stops to limit travel of the pawls so that they automatically disengage from the drill head at the bottom of a 90 are when the hose is being extended .into the well, and at the top of this same are when the hose is being withdrawn from the well'.-

'(12) In a drill carry of the character described, the provision of paired arms carrying paired pawls in which tension means fastened to the arms tends to maintain them in a horizontal position and resists the feeding force on the drill head picked up by the pawls and forcing the carry arms through a 90 are at the lower end of which the pawls disengage from the drill head, after which the tension means then acts to return the carry arms to their initial horizontal position. 7

Ancillary objectives such as the provision of suitable pawls faces on the drill head pick-up,

4 the housing of the hose turning mechanism in a suitable case and the like, will become clearer from reading the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Figure l is a diagrammatic View in side elevation of a hose turner such as that embodied in this invention, mounted upon tubing and'positioned in a well bore for horizontally extending a drill carried on a high pressure hose.

' Fig. 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic elevational view of the hose turner with sections cut away to more clearly present its operation.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged edge elevational view of the hose turner with the lid of the case removed.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows, showing the details of the head carry arms and pawls, and with some of the parts in. elevation.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the forces acting on the head carry arms during the;

carrying of the drill head through a arc.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged diagrammatic view taken. along the line 66' of Fig. 3 illustrating the automatic release of the head carrying pawls upon contact with the lower ends of the case slots, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged end view of a pawl face showing the pick-up tooth and throwout face.

Referring to the figures, a hose turner N, Fig. l, is run into a well bore [4 on a string of tubing ll fixed to the collar I2 carried at the top of the turner in a manner generally similar to that described in Patent No. 2,345,816 in which provision is made to extend a high pressure fluid supply hose 2!! carried inside of tubing ll down into the hose turner 10. An anchor l5 fixed in the collar [5 carried on the lower end of turner I0 is of such length that it will support the turner Ill opposite the stratum 26, as for instance a fluid bearing sandstone, into which drainage laterals 24 are to be cut by a hydraulically operated drilling engine 22 such as that described in co-pending application Serial No. 604,964 carried on the extending end of the fluid supply hose 20.. 1

The case of the hose turner It comprises a flat welded steel box made of steel plates 29 and 30 having a width slightly less than the diameter of the well bore [4 and being spaced a distance apart slightly greater than the diameter of the drill head 23 of the water engine 22 to permitpassage of the drill head freely between them. These plates are weldd on spacers at top and bottom and to the-tubing collars l2 and I5, and provide the structural strength required in the case to support the tubing string ll carried above it. In order to give the case the maximum cross-sectional length, a relatively light plate 21 is welded to the rear edgesof plates 29 and 3D to form the back of the case, and a similar plate 28 is screwed to the front of the side plates to form a removable lid at the front of the case.

The lateral opening 3! from which the water drill 22 is extended horizontally passes through the case lid 28, and immediately behind it and mounted on the side plates 29 and 30 are hose guides 36 and 3! which comprise the horizontally disposed outlet of hose passageway 32 through theturner l0. Since a hose nozzle or a water drill '22 such as is contemplated for use with the hose turner ill must be positioned substantially horizontally before beginning a cut, it follows that the lower opening of passageway 32 must be straight for a distance after turning sgsaeese through a 90 are, suiiicient 'to accomm'odatethe water drill in this position. For this reason the arc AA--'of turning, Fig. '2, taken along the centerlineof the hose 20, must begin 'backfrom the1id 28 of the case it, bythis amount: i. e., substantially three-fourths the lengthpf the water'drill 22, and its maximum radius of cur-vature will then-bedetermined'by the-distancefrom this point to the back-of the box less the radius of the hose 2!) and thespace required for :free travel of the slack belt 50. The radius of the arc -A-'A less the radius of the hose 2!], when -.designed substantially equal to the length of the water drill '22 by varying the diameter :of the hose '26 that is used with a given turner, gives the 'maXimumradius-of the flanged/pulling roller 40 mounted on shaft '42 journaled at itsendsin the -case plates 29 and -30.

With-the radius of-curvature of the arc :A--A determined, positioning :ofthe "belt rollers 51, 5'3 and -55 mounted upon shafts 52,5 1 and 56 respectively, 'theends of which are journaled in suitablebearings in the'case plates 29 and this comparatively simple. The forward face 53 f the endless belt 58, preferably made of rubber impregnated fabric, and-having a width substantially equal to the diameter of the drillshead :23, is designedto loosely support hose =23 when-passingaround flanged'or grooved pulley 40 through at least 90 of thisarc and-as much thereafter as is necessary to. suitably accommodate the belt rollers-i, 53 and 55 inside the turner case. The general requirements in the position of these rollers are that roller 53 be spaced back from thecase lid 28 .a distancesubstantially equal to the distance requiredifor horizontally positioning the water'drill 22. The roller .fidserves primarily to maintain the rear face of thebeltlifi adjacent the rear plate 2 at the .bottomof the case in. The roller 5| serves a similar purpose atthe top of the case and also changes the direction of travel of the belt 5!]. Roller 5i ispreferably made as smallas free turning of the .belt will permit todecrease the length of the turning are A-A to arninimum, whereas roller 53 is made-as large as space will permit to smooth the travel of drill head 23 over it.

Since roller Si is positioned well above hose pulley 40 and adjacent the upper end of the passageway 32 where it enters into the collar l2, it-is evident that aguide of some sort is required on the opposite side of the passageway 32 to force the hose over on to the .belt 50. Such a guide is provided by flanged roller 44 mounted on shaft 46 journaled in the .side plates 29 and 38. Although fine adjustments in the tension of belt 50 are not required after it has been put into operation, a conventional belt tightener having vertical travel is usually installed between belt roller 51 and the case if], to expedite the initial tension adjustment ofbelt 50.

The head carry assembly 60, the sole function of whichis to initially guide the drill head 23ithrough the curved passageway 3-2 of the hose turner H1, includes a pair of arms BI and mounted on opposite-ends'of the pulling pulley shaft 42 and solidly secured theretoby pins t3 so that they swing freely with shaft d2 outside of -the turner case if and in radial alignment with each other. The outer faces-of arms-6i and Mare recessed toreceive pawls 66 and 61 pivotally mounted therein-on pins 68 and 69 respectively to permit limited transverse travel to the swinging pathof the arms =6! and 62. BoltsJO welded inside arms 6| and '62 pass through oversized holes 12 inipawls 6 G and 6-! andcarry coiled springs 14 and tension adjustment nuts I la so that p2;W1S-65 and 6-! are normally held firmly in arms tl and 62 against outer: surfaces 18 0f saidlarms.

The forward-ends ofpawls tt and't'i arebent inward to form fingers "9t and ll respectively which pass through curved slots 35 and-3d in the side wallso'f the turner case ifi in alignment with the hose turning arc A-A, being spaced a distance apart in the case slightly greater than the diameter of the fluidsupp'ly hose 2!! to permitits' passage freely betweenthem, yet at the same time projecting into the turner case sufliciently to catch the toothedsides of the cutting head 23-back of its maXimu1n-crOSS-Section as illustrated inFigs. 5 and 6, the upper faces of pawl fingers 9e and 'll being recessed to form teeth 8B, Fig. 7, and the lower faces being sweptback to dorm throwout faces 16. A flange 64 on the arm 82 receives theend of coil spring 65held'under tension by oase-hook 85 securing its other end and normally maintains the outer end of arm 62 securely against case stop 38 to hold the carry assembly in a horizontal position. Case'stoptfi prevents downward swinging of assembly 69 against spring tension T througha distance slightly more'than ,but the assembly normally never contacts this stop since with downward carry of the head 23 throwout faces "it of the fingers 9d and 'H contact-the canted ends 82 of slots 33 and 34 to compress springs M and :thus force pawl fingers 9t and H out a distance'E, bringing them flush with the inside walls of hose turner :case it, and thereby releasing drill head 23 after which the tension T of spring '55 returns the carry assembly 50 to its initial horizontal position. With pulling of thehose 20 from the turner it, the drillhea'd -ZS again contacts the'pawl fingers 9B and l! butthis time against the throwout faces 76 with the result that the assembly 58 being restrained from upward travel by case stop 33, springs Ware again compressed to permit passage of the head 23 between the pawl fingers 9t and "H.

In operation the turner case it is positioned in a conventional fashion opposite the formation into whichdrainage laterals are to be out, and the high pressure hose carrying the water drill 22 is rundown the tubing II into the top of the hoser turner case. Being thus initially directed between the inside face 58 of the turner belt and-the flanged guide pulley 4d, the feeding force F carries the headion down between the belt face 58 and the pulling pulley it the face of which pushes the drill sufiiciently out of vertical alignment with the tubing I! that the drill head 23 lies against the face of the pulley Ml at the time it contacts the carry fingers 90 and ll, passing down between the teeth 88 and the pulley face until it contacts stops 84 at the base of teeth 89. With contact of head 23 against stops 84, the feeding force F acts to push the ends of the carry assembly 69 downward against the tension of assembly spring 65,'the fingers 9t and H freely following case slots 33 and 34.

As continued feeding pressure F forces the hose and head 23 downward against spring tension .T, the head 23 is deflected from its vertical path to follow the arc of curvature A--A anda new force comes into effect. This is the couple 0, Fig. 5, represented by the natural rigidity of the engine .22 and hose .2!) which is opposed to lateral deflection occurringwithtturningthrough thearc AA, and tending to pull the head 23 from the pawl fingers 90 and H. The couple thus becomes a tension load effective through the arms 6| and 62 and sustained by the pulley shaft 42. It may also act to spread the pawl fingers 90 and II against the tension of springs 74 and thus permit the head to kick loose. To prevent this happening, advantage is taken of the fact that with the drill heads 23 side drainage slots permit teeth 80 to contact substantially flat surfaces so that the couple 0 cannot act against inclined surfaces and thus be converted to a force opposed to the tension of pawl springs 14. Where abrasive nozzles form the cutting head 22 of the hose instead of a water drill, similar drainage slots may be made in the nozzle to permit teeth 80 to more easily hold it.

Escape of the head 23 from the fingers 50 and H being otherwise resisted by the tension of spring 65, the head and following hose is carried down through the arc AA in the direction R until the finger faces 16 contact the slot ends 82 to release the drill head, after which the assembly Bil is returned by spring 65 to its initial position. The drill head meanwhile has dropped to the belt 50 passing over roller 53, being tightly maintained in this position through the tension of belt 50 holding the turned hose against the grooved face of pulling pulley 40. It will be observed, Fig. 2, that the top of roller 53 is slightly ahead of the bottom of pulley 40, hence at the time the head 23 drops on belt 50 after passage through are A-A it actually is tilting upward sliightly. However, with forward extension, it kicks down after clearing the belt 56 and the engine 22 moves forward in a true horizontal position before clearing the turner case to contact the face of the formation 28.

A high pressure fluid stream is then pumped into the fiuid supply hose 20 from suitable installations at the surface, and cutting with the drilling engine 22 begun. As the supply hose 20 is forced through the hose turner it with cutting of a lateral drainage channel, the endless belt 50 turning on rollers 52 and 53 moves with it as does the pulley 40 when the drill head 23 is moving through an open hole. However, when the head is cutting, a feeding pressure of between to 20# p. s. i. is normally required and this plus the drag of the hose 2!] in the lateral 24 together with the friction of the exhausted fluid stream passing between the hose and the lateral 24, is reflected as a horizontal force W, Fig. 2, resisting the vertical feeding pressure F. At such times the hose 20 clears the pulley 4t, and it is at these times that the use of a turner belt 50 becomes particularly effective. The resultant of the forces W and F is seen as a force M tending to decrease the radius of the are of curvature A-A and to compress the hose 20; i. e., expand it to fill the curved passageway 32. However, since the force M is directly resisted by the tension of the belt 50, it is transferred as forces X and Y effective upon roller shafts 54 and 52 respectively. This is highly advantageous, since the force M being more or less'evenly distributed throughout the are A-A is taken evenly throughout this are by the belt 50.

This even distribution of the force M over the belt 50 has two direct benefits. For instance, where an arcuate series of rollers are used in place of a belt, the surface of hose 20 when under compression tends to push down into the spaces between the roller tops and thus greatly increases them. The second feature is that to impose rollers uniformly between the hose and the back wall of the turner case l0 greatly decreases the space available in which to turn the hose 20, thus directly decreasing the radius of curvature of the turning arc A--A, which in turn calls for a decrease in the diameter of the hose 20, and hence to a corresponding decrease in the diameter of the drainage channel 24 that can be cut for a given side of well bore.

Since wide adaptations of such a hose turner may be made without departure from the principles disclosed, what is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for extending a flexible conduit through a are, a case containing a curved passageway, an endless belt mounted on rollers journaled inside of said case and lying outside of said passageway, flanged rollers mounted inside of said case and forming the inner wall of said passageway, inside faces of said case forming the side walls of said passageway, said belt having a width substantially equal to the width of said passageway whereby the inside faces of said case serve as guides to maintain the centerline of said belt in alignment with the centerline of said passageway.

2. In a hose turning mechanism, the combination of a high pressure hose carrying a nozzle having a. greater cross-section than the diameter of the hose, with a hose turning case containing a, passageway making a 90 arc and having a cross-section slightly greater than the diameter of the nozzle, means for causing the hose and nozzle fixed thereto to pass freely through said curved passageway including paired pawls extending into said curved passageway from either side of said case and spaced a distance apart slightly greater than the diameter of the hose but less than the diameter of the nozzle, whereby said nozzle is maintained in alignment with the center line of said passageway during passage therethrough.

3. In a hose turning mechanism of the character described, a pair of pivotally mounted pawls, stops to limit the travel of said pawls to an arc of 90, and variable tension means operably associated with said pawls to pick up and to carry the nozzle of a high pressure hose through said 90 arc and to automatically release said nozzle at the end of said are.

4. In a hose turning mechanism of the character described, paired pivotally mounted arms describing a 90 arc, yieldable pawls mounted on said arms for carrying a hose nozzle through said are, tension means operatively associated with said arms resisting downward travel of said arms, and stops to limit the upward travel of said arms in response to said tension means;

5. In a hose turning mechanism of the character described, a. nozzle carrying device including paired tension loaded pawls projecting into a curved passageway, and pawl faces the upper ends of which form fingers for picking up a hose nozzle, and the lower ends of which form inclined throwout surfaces for automatically disengaging said fingers.

6. In a hose turning mechanism of the character described, means for carrying a hose nozzle through a 90 are including paired pivotally mounted arms, paired pawls pivotally mounted on said arms for transverse travel thereto, stops for limiting the travel of said pawls inwardly with respect to the case upon which said arms the friction generated during its passage over I! are mounted, and variable tension means re straining outward movement of said pawls with respect to said arms.

7. In a hose turnin mechanism of the character described, a flat vertically disposed hose turning case communicating with a string of tubing for positioning said case in a well bore, a curved passageway in said case, curved slots in the side of said case communicating with said curved passageway through a 90 arc, means mounting paired hose nozzle carrying pawls for travel in said slots, and means permitting automatic disengagement of said pawls with said nozzle at either end of said slots.

8. In apparatus for turning a flexible conduit through a 90 arc, a case containing a curved passageway, an endless belt mounted on rollers journaled inside of said case and laying outside of said passageway, flanged rollers mounted inside of said case and forming the inner wall of said passageway, inside faces of said case forming the side walls of said passageway, curved slots in the sides of said side walls, and means operable in said slots to maintain the end of a conduit projected through said passageway in alignment with the centerline of said passageway during its projection therethrough.

RUSSELL R. HAYS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

